The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

I finally finished the stockings project that I'd begun--just on time! This photo was taken on Christmas Eve. This was a fun sewing project, and I was excited to finish all 6 stockings before Santa came!

On Christmas Eve, Buddy the dog morphed into Buddy the elf:

On December 23 we visited mom and dad in SLC. Mom tended Skyler while the rest of us toured temple square with dad. It had been years since Nate or I had gone to temple square at Christmas. What a neat experience! It was magical and our kids loved it (in spite of the cold!)

I will post about Christmas soon, but I needed to get the pre-Christmas stuff posted (I tried on Christmas Eve but it wasn't working). Hope you all had a great holiday!

Wicked!

Wicked, here we come! Yeah for Nate's cousins Heather and Kristen who called Angie, who called me--to tell us that the Wicked tickets were available on Monday if you were special and had the secret code (most people have to wait until Friday). Heather is special and had the code, so she passed it on to us! I called and bought our tickets for May 2! I don't know how good the seats are, but we're going! Shhh...please don't tell my kids because we're surprising them for Christmas!

My Amazing Emily

Can I just brag for a minute? Well, I'm going to whether you like it or not. Emily is an amazing daughter! Every month at school a child who exhibits the monthly character trait is chosen from each class to receive the Canyon Champs award (it's Canyon Elementary School). Last month the character trait was responsibility. It didn't surprise me at all that Emily won the award for being responsible. This is the girl that wakes up at 6 am every morning (the rest of the family wakes up at 6:30 or later) so that she can get her chores done before school.

Emily loves reading! The monthly goal for reading in her class is 400 minutes. Emily has averaged about 1400 minutes every month!

Today I received a phone call from Hogi Yogi asking to speak with a parent of Emily Pope. She entered a coloring contest in November, and she won! She gets a $50 savings bond! Pretty cool, don't you think?

Emily is also a great helper! I really don't know what I would do without her. I love you, Em!

In search of the Perfect Christmas Tree

We decided to start a fun new family tradition of cutting our own Christmas tree. Very early on the morning of the first Saturday in November, Nate, his brother Justin, and my brother Brett drove to Midway and stood in line in freezing cold weather in order to get tree permits. The permits are only $10, but they are limited so they go quickly. Luckily, we got our permits. So on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we made the drive to the Uintah National Forest by Heber to get our Christmas trees!

Here are our troopers! It was a freezing cold, windy morning. Angie, Sienna, Skyler and I waited in the car because it was just too cold for the babies (plus Skyler was hungry). It took an hour or so to find, cut, and haul back 3 beautiful Christmas trees! Then we drove back into Heber and ate lunch at the Dairy Keen. Yum!

Christmas Advent Project

I was talking with my sister about the advent calendar we had as children. I told her I had made a similar one with a Nativity theme a few years ago. I'm posting a photo so she could see what it looks like. If anyone is interested in making one of these I can email you the pictures. I scanned these cute pictures from a Nativity storybook. Then I printed them on iron-on transfer paper. I transferred it onto felt (felt sticks to felt--like flannelboard and requires little to no sewing). I made a background stable on a larger piece of felt. I also sewed pockets onto the larger piece. Each pocket is numbered and holds one of the nativity pictures. Every day in December they pull one picture out of the pocket and put it on the stable. My kids love this!

Twilight!!

I did it! I went to Twilight at midnight last night! IT WAS AWESOME! I loved it! I can't wait to go again! Kristen Stewart was the perfect Bella. And Robert Pattinson, while not my ideal Edward (and let's face it--who could live up to that ideal, anyway?..That is, I mean besides Nate, of course) came pretty darn close! Ah, the romance... Thanks for going with me Angie and Sierra! And it was fun being with so many cousins! Anyone ready to go again, like tonight?

2008 Family Photo

In September we went up Provo canyon to get an updated family picture taken. The colorful autumn leaves were so pretty and the kids were mostly agreeable (picture time can be so stressful, but it went okay)!

Halloween!

We did some fun Halloween things last week!

On Monday for family night, we carved our Jack-O-Lanterns!

Emily couldn't make up her mind about what she wanted to be for Halloween. She chose four or five different things and kept changing her mind. So for Halloween, she was a Japanese girl at school...

...and a baby for trick-or-treating!

Sarah had no problems deciding. She was a rock star! Cute, huh? You can't see it, but her shirt says (in sparkly letters no less) "Today I want to be a rock star"!

Eliza was a beautiful butterfly and Skyler was Tigger during the day...

(Isn't he just DARLING?!)

(And so's she!)

...But they were a giraffe and lion for trick-or-treating!

We had a great time! After trick-or-treating around our neighborhood, we went to our friends house and had a bonfire and drank hot chocolate. The kids then watch a Scooby Doo Halloween movie while the parents visited. This was such a fun Halloween. I loved that it didn't get dark until AFTER we started trick-or-treating, and it was so warm! The kids didn't need coats at all. Even the warm costumes were probably too warm! I can't believe it's already November. This year has just flown by!

Applesauce, continued

As promised, here is another picture from the applesauce factory. April, Angie, and I are hard at work making those 16 dozen quarts of applesauce! Yum, yum! (We also had help from Summer and Amanda, but didn't get pictures with them.)

Separation Angst

Skyler, four months old

Yes, we are experiencing some separation woes. No, it is not Skyler that is upset, it is me! We have moved him into his own bedroom at night because he started sleeping through the night, (and it was just time). But it is so hard for me to be separated from my baby! I find myself checking on him and giving him kisses several times before I go to bed (he sleeps peacefully through it all). First thing in the morning I go straight to his room and check to make sure he's still breathing. I have such a hard time being separated from him. Amazing how your life can change so completely in just four months!

St George

Last week we went to St George for fall break with some of Nate's family. It was so much fun! We went to see Brigham Young's winter home, the Jacob Hamblin home, the Pioneer museum, Snow Canyon, Silver Reef Ghost Town, and the St George Temple/visitors' center. We also went to the Tuacahn, Nate went to see the musical Big River, and Emily and I went to Les Miserables. It was awesome! We had such a good time! The kids loved going swimming and watching the Disney Channel at the hotel (yes, I do believe those were their favorite parts--swimming and tv), Nate loved chasing lizards, and I loved eating in restaurants!

Nate's favorite hobby, lizard catching

Emily took this shot of the temple for her Reflections project.

Here's Skyler, looking cool in his hat in Snow Canyon.

What a bunch of cuties!

Apple Heaven....?

This is what 1000 pounds of apples looks like in the back of a truck! I found a really good deal on apples, so I called all of my sisters-in-law in the area and we decided to make applesauce! The applesauce makers were: Angie, April, Summer, me, and Angie's sister Amanda.



We had to find jars, but surprise! All the stores are sold out of quart canning jars this time of year. I called nearly every grocery store in Utah county and was finally able to locate several dozen.



We unloaded the apples from the truck in to boxes and buckets in my garage.



Here's Angie going to town! First we had to cut the apples into quarters, and remove all worms and other bad spots.



Then we cooked the apples and ran them through my Victorio strainer:



Then Voila! We made 16 dozen quarts of applesauce! The best part is that it is so sweet we didn't have to add any sugar. AND to Eliza's great delight, the applesauce is PINK! We still had some apples left but we'd had enough after two full days of working. We divided them up and each took two buckets to make pie or dehydrate or whatever! Angie took some other pictures of us so I will post those when I get a hold of them. Oh, and on Monday I am going to take Aino's (my sister-in-law) portion to her and help her make another 4 or 5 dozen quarts!

Peaches and Pears

This has been a busy week and you can see why in this picture. I canned one bushel of peaches and one bushel of pears. That came out to 27 quarts of each! Man, that was a lot of work, but so worth it when I see how much my family enjoys the fruit throughout the winter. It was not so easy finding time to peel, core, slice, and process all of that fruit with a baby that needs so much attention. I've been putting in lots of late nights, but thankfully now I am done (at least until the grapes are ready!)

Three Months Old

Okay, so I know that I am biased, but Skyler is so adorable!!! I just can't get enough of kissing him! He is now three months old! He rarely fusses anymore--just when he's hungry, tired, or needs to be changed. The past few weeks he has started going to sleep between 9:30 and 10:00 pm, and waking up between 6:30 and 7:30 am. It is so nice! We find ourselves calling him "Sky-boy" very frequently. Sarah started it and it has stuck. It reminds me of a superhero-kid (like Superboy instead of Superman).

Funny story, but I hope I don't offend anyone. Last night Skyler was having a bath with Sarah and Eliza. Sarah was holding him. Out of curiousity, I asked her if she knew what his privates were called. She thought for a moment and then replied, "Precious." We had a good laugh! Nate said that was close enough!

Happy 9th Birthday

Emily turned nine years old last week! She got an MP3 player and a Webkinz. She says her MP3 player is the best present she's ever received! This picture was taken before school, that's why Eliza is still in her pajamas (notice the princesses). I can't believe my oldest baby is nine!! Emily is such a good helper. She loves holding and tending Skyler. She is such a big help to me, I really don't know what I would do without her. I love you, Em!

Blessing Day

Nate and Cutie-Pie!

What a great smile!

Three generations of Larsens

With Grandma Bartholomew

Three generations of Pope men!

Four generations of Shulers

Today was Skyler's blessing day. He wore Nate's blessing outfit! It was such a neat day. The blessing was very special and Skyler didn't cry. After church, everyone came back to our house for lunch. What a great day!

Princess Eliza

Eliza is totally obsessed with princesses. Everything is about princess--from the colors of our dishes (which range from Cinderella blue to Sleeping Beauty pink), to our daily activities (when I sweep the kitchen, I am Cinderella)--everything somehow relates to princesses. She wants to watch Cinderella everyday, and when it's time for her bedtime story--yep, you guessed it--she wants to hear Cinderella. (She will settle for other princess movies and stories, but Cinderella is the first choice). The last two days she has started asking in a new way. Now she says, "Mommy, I want to watch something beautiful" and "Mommy, I want you to read me something beautiful." I have to admit, I like beautiful things, too. Besides, what girl doesn't want to be a princess?

Thank Heavens for Little Boys!

How did I ever think I could live without having a boy? I guess it's not so much that I can't live without a boy, but I can't live without THIS boy! He is SOOOO precious! Now that I'm beyond the stressful first two months, I am experiencing true bliss. There is nothing sweeter than cuddling this little bundle!